Mother's Day Role Switch: Technology Helps Children Parent their Parents

HUNTSVILLE, AL, May 05, 2011 (Press-News.org) Caring for an aging parent is a responsibility that no one is ever fully prepared to handle. It's difficult enough to imagine the parents who raised you are now the ones needing the care themselves. However, the painful reality of caregiving for parents is often unavoidable and with people living longer the number of adult children parenting their parents is growing.

Adult Children Adjust to New Roles
An estimated 34 million adults provide unpaid care to an adult family member or friend over 50 - that's roughly 20% of all American adults. Those adult children spend roughly 21 hours/week caregiving. While 89% call those caregiving duties a "minor sacrifice", they worry if they can keep up as parents get older. (AARP, National Alliance for Caregiving survey) The children/caregivers are turning to technology to keep an eye on parent's safety when they can't.

"Every family's needs are different and there are many tools available to help care for elderly loved ones while maintaining their independence," says Chris Otto, CEO of Halo Monitoring and a senior care expert. "An advanced monitoring system with automatic fall detection is a critical part of any complete care plan."
Fall Statistics
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports:
• One out of three senior adults fall each year.
• In 2007, 18,000 older Americans died from fall related injuries.
• In 2008, 2.1 million older Americans were injured in falls.

John Hanafee and his siblings are a good example. They live with their families near Sacramento, CA. Their parents, James and Doris, both 75 years old, still live in their own house in a community near their children. James has been Doris' caregiver for several years since she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The children have helped in that care when their parents asked, but now James has slowed down after several strokes and more help is needed. The parents want to remain in their house.

"The biggest challenge for everyone is acceptance," says John Hanafee. "Parents must accept they have arrived at a certain stage in life where they need help and children must be firm and honest in talking with their parents. We ultimately convinced Mom and Dad to get medical alarms by saying it would help us to help them. In addition, we would be able to respect their privacy but still be able to check on them."

Doris and James both wear separate advanced medical alarms produced by Halo Monitoring that automatically call for help in the event of a fall. There's no need to push a button. James' alarm also monitors heart rate and temperature, an added benefit for care since he has heart issues and cares for Doris.

"The alarms have provided peace of mind for everyone," admits James. "Our children feel better knowing if anything happens they'll be notified right away, and we feel better knowing our children are close by and can help but we're still independent."

Through the use of a small comfortable, wireless device worn by a senior loved one, Halo Monitoring's myHalo system assures security for seniors and peace of mind for their caregivers and family. In addition to its automatic fall detection system, myHalo utilizes a private, secure website to allow designated persons and family to "look-in" on an elderly loved one's health and physical activity 24/7, providing peace of mind without invading their personal privacy.

"Families do all they can to protect their elderly loved ones and myHalo is there when others can't be to provide additional security and peace of mind," adds Otto.

About Halo Monitoring:
Halo Monitoring's products assure security for seniors and peace of mind for their caregivers. The advanced myHalo system is the first medical alarm that sends an automatic alert- no need to push a button- in the event of a fall. While most medical alarms are only able to react to an emergency, myHalo is the first system of its kind to provide 24/7 activity and health monitoring. Seniors get proactive care when they need it, while remaining independent.
Website: http://www.halomonitoring.com